R. Thomas Riley's Blog, page 2

Blood and Roses Anthology (Scarlett River Press)

Includes my story (co-written w/ Roy C. Booth) HERE, HAPPINESS

NOTE: This is a fresh Gibson Blount short story!Now available to order from Smashwords at the following link:Purchase from SmashwordsSoon to order from Amazon, will post the link when available!Table of Contents as follows:1.      Blood Red Tinted Lip Moisturizer Stain, by J. Peter Nicholas & Roy C. Booth2.      Snapshot, by Patrick Freivald3.      A Thing of Beauty, by Rose Blackthorn4.      Atrium, by D.L. Turpin5.      Caleb’s Chair, by Sharyn Lilley6.      Love Really Bites, by Chris Nigro7.      Growth, by Aurora Linnea8.      For the Children, by Tarl Hoch9.      And You Will Know Her by the Morning Light, by Chuck Augello10.  Punctured Vein, by Eric Tucker11.  Submission Games, by Megan Dorei12.  Insane Affection, by Rita Dinis13.  First Date, by Doree Weller14.  A Night at the Disco, by Sergio Palumbo15.  The Fairy Child, by Gwendolyn Edward16.  The River of Lethe, by Kate Monroe17.  Here Happiness, by Roy C. Booth & R. Thomas Riley18.  Double Exposure, by Kay Brooks19.  Immaculate Conversion, by Kerry Lipp20.  Every Rose has its Thorn, by Katherine Tomlinson21.  Magdalene, by C.J. Waller22.  Scarlet Lady and the Silver Rose, by Naching Kassa23.  Dying the Roses Red, by Michael Shimek

Are we a computer simulation run by our descendants?

Ever since I first stumbled across this theory a few years ago, it's completely fascinated me. I grew up in an extremely rigid religious home and questioning any belief was religiously (pun intended) crushed and forboden.

There simply wasn't an option to question even the more "out there" beliefs my parents tried to get me to believe blindly.

When I left home at 16, I started searching, and have been ever since. I've looked at so many religions, and, guess what, I still haven't found an explanation even remotely close to the answer I need.

I've been captivated with anything related to the Quantum Mechanics field and read about advances and theories every chance I get. It's probably part of the reason I write fiction, other than to deal with my search for answers and the crap I went through in a religious upbringing.

Check out the article below, it's really got huge consequences IF it can be proved :)



"A decade ago, a British philosopher put forth the notion that the universe we live in might in fact be a computer simulation run by our descendants. While that seems far-fetched, perhaps even incomprehensible, a team of physicists at the University of Washington has come up with a potential test to see if the idea holds water." 

http://www.washington.edu/news/2012/12/10/do-we-live-in-a-computer-simulation-uw-researchers-say-idea-can-be-tested/


Video explain Nick Bostrom's theory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nnl6nY8YKHs#at=124

Audible.com news!

THE MONSTER WITHIN IDEA and THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS are now available on Audible.com.

Check out the link below and spread the word.

Audible.com Books

Too Much Horror Business, by C Dulaney

Too Much Horror Business, by C DulaneyC Dulaney recently had the awesome opportunity to interview Mr. R. Thomas Riley, co-author of If God Doesn’t Show. Or rather, he was tazered and dragged into the interrogation room. Let’s see what information we could get out of him, shall we?
Check out the interview below
http://permutedpressauthors.blogspot.com/2013/06/too-much-horror-business-by-c-dulaney.html

Mortuary of Madness Cover Reveal!

Cover by Elder Lemon Design

About the book: 

Young William Ackerman, the last family member in a long line of controversial morticians, had to get out of the small, stagnating town he grew up in before it smothered him to death. 

Saddled with the recent death of his father and plagued by ugly family rumors of experimentation with reanimation, William had reached his breaking point. All William ever wanted was health, happiness, and a family in his life, but all of those dreams suddenly change when his childhood sweetheart, Samantha, is driven to suicide by her money-hungry parents. 

That's the last straw! You can bet that there will be Hell to pay as the bells of retribution toll. 

MORTUARY OF MADNESS is an eerie, macabre tale of revenge that follows one man's tortured descent into madness, explores the hazards and trappings associated with greed, and shows the evil men are capable of when pushed to the limit. 

*Based on the screenplay written by Jim O'Rear. 
**Screenplay novelization/adaptation by Roy C. Booth & R. Thomas Riley.

Reading (Or the Sorely Neglected Part of Writing)

A few months ago, I participated in a discussion with a bunch of fellow writers about their reading habits. I came away from the discussion kinda surprised and bewildered. Obviously, this topic has been percolating in the back of my brain since, and I've finally figured out how and why I wanted to write this little piece.

Here goes:

To me, it should be second nature to read as widely and as varied as you can, if you're playing (seriously, or otherwise) at this writing gig. During the above referenced discussion, there were quite a few writers that claimed they didn't read much, if at all. That was simply surprising to me and a bit of a head scratcher.

My initial response to the thread was this, "An author must read, or their writing will suffer." I certainly wasn't expecting the response I got to that statement. It seemed like second nature to me. There were quite a few writers that said they didn't read for pleasure (or otherwise) and seemed to be proud of the fact. A few even responded to me with varying degrees of "Broad sweeping statements like that don't apply to all writers, etc."

When words are what you do, reading words should be a part of that process. Writing in a vacuum is not necessarily a productive way to go about things, in my opinion. I'm a reader first, I'm an author second. I read because I love it, I write because I have to. Now, everyone's reading habits are, indeed, different. For me, I read (at least) 4 to 5 books simultaneously. That doesn't work for everyone. My TBR pile is massive, there is so much I want to read and absorb and I do my best to finish at least 2 to 3 books a week. If I'm not writing, I'm reading. Absorbing the craft, learning how other authors use language, and simply enjoying the stories.

I don't read in just one genre either, that, I think, is also detrimental. An author needs to read far and wide, to absorb, to learn, to experience.

There's ton of writing advice all over the internet. Most of it is crap because it assumes a universal fit, the key is knowing what advice to take, use it, or stop clinging to it, if it doesn't work for you .

Like this blog, being a well-read author is key to crafting your own stuff


...or not :)

Read THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS for *Free*

Horror Aficionados is hosting a free giveaway for their April reads book discussion group over on Goodreads. If you haven't read the novella yet, now you have no excuse :)

Hit the link below for all the details and the free download link 

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1272749-april-2013-grand-mal-press-group-read-the-flesh-of-fallen-angels-spoi

New interview with Fear.net

Fear.net posted my interview. I talk about new projects, and upcoming projects. Check it out.

http://www.fearnet.com/news/news-article/horrorthriller-writer-r-thomas-riley-talks-new-collection

An advance NOS4A2 review

Here's the publisher's synopsis - 
Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.
Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”
Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.





I managed to acquire an ARC of Joe Hill's new novel, NOS4A2 a few weeks back and promptly dived into it. I've been a fan of Hill's from day one, starting with his short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts, Heart Shaped Box, to Horns. Each and every outing Hill has proven he knows how to craft a great tale and inevitably the comparisons to his father have been numerous. Sure, we all know (now) that Hill's dad is Stephen King. A few of us knew before the general public and one of the reasons I admire and respect Joe outside of his writing was that he didn't rely on the King name to get published. He stood up on his own two feet and showed he can write, and write extremely well. 
Now, NOS4A2 is going to be the novel that everyone looks back at in 25 years and says, "This is where Hill broke out into the mainstream. This is the novel where Hill came into his own." I firmly believe that. This is a beast of a novel, coming in at 704 pages. It's epic, it's world-building, but it's also an intimate story about a mother. I'm pretty sure Hill knew the King comparisons would come even more heavily with the subject matter of this novel and rather than shy away from it he embraced it whole heartedly. There's even some nods to his dad's mythology, Mid-World and the Dark Tower universe. When Hill mentions a certain clown (in passing with a wink and a nod) from his dad's fiction, I let out a cheer and you will as well. Hill's world is familiar and his characters are real. They're familiar because some of us (myself included) grew up reading his dad's novels. King is a master at character development and Hill is proving he's as good, if not better, than his dad. One of the main differences, is where King peppers his fiction with pop culture references we all recognize and love, Hill peppers his fiction and NOS4A2 with his geek cred. Hill loves and knows his Joss Whedon, his Dr. Who, and any number of other geeky goodness.
Still, this isn't (and shouldn't be) a dad vs son issue, but it is, and will continue to be. Both can write, and both can tell a tale with astounding skill. 
Charlie Manx is one of the best crafted villains I've read in a very long time. Sure, he's the bad guy of NOS4A2, but Hill manages to go deeper than "he's a bad guy who does bad things", there are certain points, especially near the finale where Hill makes you feel some sympathy for Manx. And that's a skill many horror writers don't have these days. The villain is more than just a jumble of bad things, and Hill understands this and shows up Manx's past in such a way that, yes, you will feel sorry for the guy at certain points, even as he's kidnapping a child. 
Vic, or "the Brat", is a fully fleshed out character. She's damaged, she's lost, and she's human. And you're gonna feel for her during her journey in this novel. Guaranteed!
It's been two days since I read the last chapter of NOS4A2 and I still can't think of one single thing I didn't like about the book or the story. I really, honestly...can't. The best way I can describe reading and experiencing NOS4A2 is this - The first time I read IT back when I was 12 years old, that feeling of "YES!" and the first time you've fallen in love with the horror genre. That...is how reading NOS4A2 was for me. Hands down. 
Hurry up, Mr. Hill, I'm ready for your next one! 
When NOS4A2 is released on April 30th, 2013, get this book. You'll fall in love with horror all over again. 

Review of THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS

http://www.amazon.com/The-Flesh-Fallen-Angels-Gibson/dp/1937727130

Matt Molgaard of Horror Novel Reviews blog reviews THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS 

"I’ll simply say this: read this novella . I enjoyed this piece of work, and believe the concept is more than worth exploring …this is an example of solid prose that deserves a place in the palm of your hand."

http://horrornovelreviews.com/2012/12/20/roy-c-booth-r-thomas-riley-the-flesh-of-fallen-angels-review/